We just had an exclusive interview with very high-level source at Mitsubishi that told us the details of their divestment of their projector and stand-alone monitor market. Yes, you read that right, Mitsubishi – the creator of the first large-format monitor (the 35″ CRT you may have remembered and loved) is is not only quitting the LCD and LED monitor business but is also getting out of the front-screen projector market, too.

However, the rumors out there aren’t true – Mitsubishi will stay in the videowall market!

The official announcement will be made by Mitsubishi later today, but the leadership at Mitsubishi is busy this morning calling all their large volume customers, dealers and distributors as of the writing of this story.

The good news is that we have been told that, even with the elimination of their projector and LCD business, the people selling and marketing these products will NOT lose their jobs – they will be re-assigned to videowalls and their lucrative printer market. We are happy to hear that.

Mitsubishi getting out of this segment of the display business is unfortunate as they did pioneer the large-screen CRT display market and many long-time AV’ers have fond memories of lugging that giant, but awesome, display around to demo. It was a stunning 35″ (and 37″) display.

Their videowall business is one of the top in the AV industry. So, staying in that segment makes complete sense. They are actually ranked number 1 or number 2 in most segments of the wall market and will be at the ISE Show in Amsterdam in early February displaying that business along with printers and small monitors.

Here’s  copy of the letter sent to all Mitsubishi partners worldwide